Please help!

Kennyg

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
7
Update

She looks perfectly fine, he tears are gone. But she still ate nothing. I tried giving her Superworms and she just walked away, also today I bought Crickets View attachment 228865
And i tried to feed her but she just walks away.. I tried dropping one near her leg, but she does not eat it. Now I left one cricket in her enclosure. I will wait overnight and see if its gone.
How long can t's be without eating?
they can go for a while without eating...
 

chanda

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
2,229
Update

She looks perfectly fine, he tears are gone. But she still ate nothing. I tried giving her Superworms and she just walked away, also today I bought Crickets View attachment 228865
And i tried to feed her but she just walks away.. I tried dropping one near her leg, but she does not eat it. Now I left one cricket in her enclosure. I will wait overnight and see if its gone.
How long can t's be without eating?
Tarantulas can go months without eating - and frequently do, especially when they are pre-molt. My Aphonopelma sp. blockade themselves in their hides when they're getting ready to molt - and stay there for up to six months or so. My P. vittata webbed himself up behind his dirt curtain for several months and my T. stirmi webbed herself up in her burrow for a couple of months before molting. Any time one of my tarantulas blockades itself somewhere, I assume that it's pre-molt and stop feeding until at least a week or so after the molt has been accomplished. If I have one that I suspect might be pre-molt but I'm not sure, I'll try dropping in a single cricket next to it. If the spider doesn't go after the cricket, I remove it and wait. Of course, there are always the exceptions that will continue to eat right up until they surprise me with a new molt. (My A. geniculata is one of those.)

In any case, refusing food is nothing to worry about. Just make sure she has access to plenty of water so she doesn't get dehydrated, and don't leave live prey in the cage for any extended period because crickets and other feeders can injure or even kill a molting tarantula. You can always offer her pre-killed prey (just crush the head - it will still continue to wiggle but will be unable to hurt her) or remove the feeders promptly if she acts uninterested.
 

Graves6661

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
86
Your A. geniculata is most likely in early premolt. Mine refused food for almost 2 months before she finally molted then went right back to her eating machine self once she hardened back up. give it a week or two and you will probably see her develop a bald patch on her abdomen that will darken up.
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
Update

She looks perfectly fine, he tears are gone. But she still ate nothing. I tried giving her Superworms and she just walked away, also today I bought Crickets View attachment 228865
And i tried to feed her but she just walks away.. I tried dropping one near her leg, but she does not eat it. Now I left one cricket in her enclosure. I will wait overnight and see if its gone.
How long can t's be without eating?
theres reports of some going up to 2 years.
no one mentioned how terrible that cage is. your spider could easily climb to the top, fall and pretty much explode. you must put it in some thing with much less height. i recommend a plastic shoebox or kritter keeper.
 

darkness975

Latrodectus
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
5,610
Update

She looks perfectly fine, he tears are gone. But she still ate nothing. I tried giving her Superworms and she just walked away, also today I bought Crickets View attachment 228865
And i tried to feed her but she just walks away.. I tried dropping one near her leg, but she does not eat it. Now I left one cricket in her enclosure. I will wait overnight and see if its gone.
How long can t's be without eating?
From the pictures you posted her abdomen is not shriveled so she can go a long time without food with no ill effects.
Now, your enclosure is in need of some major improvements.
There should not be much space at all between the substrate and the top of the enclosure for terrestrial species. Your enclosure is far too tall and a fall from the top will be detrimental (likely fatal) to her.
She may want more moisture if she is hanging around her water dish so much.
The lid of the enclosure should not be screen or mesh. You appear to have an Exo Terra type tank which is not suitable for terrestrial species without some modifications to the enclosure. She should be living in an enclosure that is oriented for terrestrial species. Here is my B. smithi's enclosure for example

I would personally use a different hide in your enclosure. That piece of wood appears a bit on the sharp side.

The fact that she is refusing food could definitely indicate an upcoming molt. I would not worry about it and just leave her be for a while.
But at some point you are going to have to fix the enclosure.
 
Last edited:

Crone Returns

Arachnoangel
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Messages
990
Update

She looks perfectly fine, he tears are gone. But she still ate nothing. I tried giving her Superworms and she just walked away, also today I bought Crickets View attachment 228865
And i tried to feed her but she just walks away.. I tried dropping one near her leg, but she does not eat it. Now I left one cricket in her enclosure. I will wait overnight and see if its gone.
How long can t's be without eating?
Too. Dang. Long. Without eating:vamp:
I have a dwarf T E. sp Red, who hasn't eaten since July.
 

Oliverhenderson

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 26, 2016
Messages
34
Update

She looks perfectly fine, he tears are gone. But she still ate nothing. I tried giving her Superworms and she just walked away, also today I bought Crickets View attachment 228865
And i tried to feed her but she just walks away.. I tried dropping one near her leg, but she does not eat it. Now I left one cricket in her enclosure. I will wait overnight and see if its gone.
How long can t's be without eating?
don't worry about the eating as long as the abdomen is not small it should be ok
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
theres reports of some going up to 2 years.
no one mentioned how terrible that cage is. your spider could easily climb to the top, fall and pretty much explode. you must put it in some thing with much less height. i recommend a plastic shoebox or kritter keeper.
Maybe read the thread from te start, i actually did advise her to change the enclosure as soon as possible, but the T was too weak or in premolt ;)
 
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